Here we are at Spots 1 and 2 on the official tour. #1 is on the
left, an enormous Black Walnut. On the right, and a bit hard to
distinguish, is a Paradox Walnut. In creating the Paradox( the
name means "a puzzle"), Luther Burbank was trying to create a
hardwood tree that grew rapidly. Hardwood is used for high quality
furniture, but hardwood trees grow slowly. Alas, although the
Paradox grew quickly, and its wood was prized, it had a tendency
to eventually dry out and crack. The Paradox walnut does not produce
many nuts, but its leaves can be up to 3 feet long!

Shady Picnic Area

Moving past these trees a bit, if you look carefully, you can see
a shady picnic spot under these two trees. The cottage is to the
left of the trees.

Chinese Chestnut Hybrid

To the direct right of the Paradox walnut is another very large
tree, a Chinese Chestnut hybrid. This is Spot #4. Mr. Burbank
worked for many years with chestnut trees, trying to create a
disease-free species. A terrible chestnut fungus had destroyed
chestnut trees in the East and Midwest. Mr. Burbank thought chestnuts
were a good food and hoped that this work would eventually lead
to chestnut orchards everywhere. This didn't happen, but this
particular tree produces an enormous amount of chestnuts each
season.

Nuts!

Okay, okay, a slight bending of the virtual tour "rules;" this
photo was taken in the Fall. It shows a chestnut bur opening to
reveal the flat nuts inside.

Grape Arbor

Continuing to the right, we pass the three large trees, heading
away from the cottage and arrive at Spot #4. This is a grape arbor,
with white seedless table grapes. Mr. Burbank did several experiments
trying to improve table(for eating only) grapes. He did some of his work with his neighbor
in Glen Ellen, Jack London!

The Barn

This barn isn't an official stop on the tour, but it is still worth
checking out. It was completed very recently and is modeled after
the original barn that was on the farm. It was built by members
of the Western Sonoma County Historical Society. At this point,
it is used for storage.